July 25, 2017
Death’s End (2016) Written by: Cixin Liu Translated by: Ken Liu Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 608 (Hardcover) Series: Remembrance of Earth’s Past Book 3 Publisher: Tor Why I Picked It: I had already read The Three-Body Problem (#1) and was halfway through The Dark Forest (#2) when I was given the opportunity to review Death’s End. I am notorious for…
July 20, 2017
Fortune’s Pawn (2013) Written by: Rachel Bach Genre: Science Fiction Pages: 341 (Kindle) Series: Paradox Book 1 Publisher: Orbit Why I Chose It: A friend recommended this to me, saying if I liked The Vorkosigan Saga, I would like this. And we all know how much I liked The Vorkosigan Saga… The Premise: Devi Morris isn’t your average mercenary. She…
July 20, 2017
Penric and the Shaman (2016) Written by: Lois McMaster Bujold Pages: 160 (Kindle) Publisher: Spectrum Literary Agency, Inc Why I chose it: I’ve read (and adored) Bujold’s Sharing Knife series and have been wanting to read more of her work. When this Penric novella was offered as a Hugo reading, I took the opportunity to expand my Bujold repertoire. The…
July 19, 2017
The Dragon’s Playlist (2017) Written by: Laura Bickle Genre: YA Fantasy Pages: 219 (Kindle) Publisher: Pronoun Why I Chose It: 100% truthfully? It was free. I’ve been enjoying Bickle’s Petra Dee books, but I wasn’t so sure about this one. Part of it is that after 30 plus years of fantasy reading, I have dragon fatigue. But in the end,…
July 18, 2017
Death Has Come Up Into Our Windows (2015) Written By: Stant Litore Genre: Alternate History/Historical Fantasy Pages: 137 (Trade Paperback) Series: The Zombie Bible (Book 1) Publisher: Westmarch Publishing Why I Chose It: I like both zombies and Bible stories, and I thought “how could you possibly combine those two?” Naturally I had to read it and find out. Premise:…
July 13, 2017
Island of Exiles (2017) Written by: Erica Cameron Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Pages: 400 (Trade Paperback) Series: Book One of The Ryogan Chronicles Publisher: Entangled Teen Why I Chose It: I heard this one described as the kind of young adult fantasy we really need in the market, with things like a strong female protagonist and great magic. Granted it…
July 12, 2017
The Bone Witch (2017) Written by: Rin Chupeco Genre: Fantasy Pages: 432 pages (Kindle) Series: The Bone Witch, Book 1 Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Why I Chose This: From the second I heard about this book I knew I had to have it. Necromancers have a special place in my heart and the story of a young dark magic user raising…
July 11, 2017
This Month On Changing the Map As we’ve discussed in previous columns, the upside of using fantastic fiction as a forum for feminist thinking is that readers are so immersed in a strange world that they don’t realize they’re learning something important. The downside? That whatever an author might write about women and their struggles may seem dated and irrelevant…
July 6, 2017
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter (2017) Written by: Theodora Goss Genre: Fantasy Pages: 416 (Kindle) Publisher: Saga Press Why I Chose It: The premise was appealing. A mash-up of pulp fiction’s literary monsters and their daughters? Mary Jekyll, Diana Hyde, Beatrice Rappaccini, Justine Frankenstein, and Catherine Moreau? Solving crime alongside Sherlock Holmes? Yeah, sign me up. That it…
July 5, 2017
This Census-Taker (2016) Written by: China Miéville Genre: Speculative Fiction Pages: 206 (Hardback) Publisher: Del Rey Why I Chose It: Although I have heard of China Miéville’s most famous work, Perdido Street Station, I have never read any of his books before. I have been trying to expand my horizons and read more novellas, so when I learned that This Census-Taker…